Fat burners have become very popular in today's society, especially in America. It seems that everyone is looking for a "quick fix" to their problem?and that is why they, therefore, turn to those "awesome" fat burners where you can just pop a pill and "lose 30 pounds in 10 days!"
However, do these fat burners actually work? Do they actually provide any benefits? Do the $40-$100 price tags justify their benefits? Here we will investigate some of the claims that they make such as:
-increased thermogenesis
-decreased appetite
-weight loss without exercising
-increased energy
However, before I go into any more detail about fat burners, you must understand two important concepts:
Total Daily Energy Expenditure and The Law of Thermodynamics (don't worry ?they're quite simple).
Everyone has a set number known as "Total Daily Energy Expenditure" or TDEE for short. Your TDEE is how many calories your body uses per day to keep itself going. Pretty much everyone's TDEE is different, and it changes everyday depending upon how much work your body does that day or if you gained more muscle mass, etc... This number can be affected by such things as genetics, how much muscle mass you have, what you do during the day, etc.
You can get a rough estimate of you TDEE at weight loss tdee calculator
Once you understand TDEE, there is another simple concept to understand. This concept is known as The First Law of Thermodynamics (don't worry ? our application of it is simple). This law states:
1. If you eat more calories than your TDEE, you gain weight (this weight can be muscle or fat or a number of other things, but that's for another article)
2. If you eat less calories than your TDEE, you lose weight (once again, this can really be anything)
3. If you eat the same amount of calories as your TDEE, your weight stays the same
So, in order to lose fat, you must create some sort of calorie deficit between your TDEE and the number of calories you eat. However, the deficit cannot be too large ? otherwise your body will go into starvation mode. For more information on this topic you can check out www.burn-the-fat-feed-the-muscle.com.
Back to fat burners.
--Increased Thermogenesis
Thermogenesis is essentially a fancy word for TDEE. Saying that a product will increase thermogenesis is like saying it will increase your TDEE ? which would mean that you burn more calories per day. Many of the products in these fat burner's will increase your rate of calorie expenditure, but not by very much ? the results are minimal.
Here's an example: A while back I saw an ad touting that their "green tea extract" increased thermogenesis by 4%. Sounds spiffy, eh? Now, let's take a somewhat normal number for TDEE ? 2000 calories/day. 4% of 2000 would be 80 calories per day. If a pound of fat is 3500 calories, this means that you could get rid of an extra pound of fat about every 44 days by taking this supplement!
This small deficit could be easily accomplished many other ways though. For instance, you could eat 10 less wheat thins for a day, or not add mayonnaise to your sandwich at lunch, or just replace soft drinks with water.
Decreased Appetite
When trying to diet (actually, just achieve a calorie deficit), many times people complain that their appetite is holding them back ? therefore companies that produce fat burners like to claim that their product "reduces appetite".
It's true, many ingredients in products may reduce your appetite. But do you really need these special herbs or ingredients to do that?
In my opinion, nature provides everything. Here are some strategies:
1. Drink water. It's simple, if you get some sort of craving for something, just drink some water. This will help to decrease your appetite by filling up your stomach, it's natural, and you need water to function properly anyway.
2. Eat fiber. You can either eat foods with fiber in them, like vegetables, or you can just buy some of that powdered fiber at the store (it actually doesn't taste that bad), and take some with your meals. Fiber cannot be digested, so it will decrease the actual capacity for your stomach to hold food. Plus fiber pushes food through your digestive tract faster than normal. This can cause roughly 15%-20% of the food you eat to not be digested ? resulting in a smaller amount of calories that your body actually digests. Fiber also provides too many other benefits to list here.
3. Eat foods that are low in calories, but high in satiety. These are foods that have a low amount of calories per amount of food that you eat. For instance, a stomach full of jello contains less calories than a stomach full of peanut butter.
Weight Loss Without Exercise
It's possible to lose some fat without exercising. However, when you do this, you're setting yourself up for failure in the long run. Muscle is an integral part of permanent fat loss. When you cut calories without lifting weights or exercising, part of the weight you lose will be muscle as well as fat. When you add weight lifting/exercise to your routine, you essentially signal your body to keep your muscle. For more information on this topic of "weight loss and weight lifting", check out our free 7-day fat loss e-course. The second lesson involves the effects of weight lifting on fat. So, in essence, you can lose weight without exercising ? but it's kind of a waste of time.
Increased Energy & Focus
Many fat burner's contain ingredients like caffeine or vinpocetine, which they claim to help increase your energy and focus. In many cases, some (a rare few might I add) of these compounds can and have been proven to do this ? but (this is from personal experience) mostly by a minimal amount. Probably the best way to gain focus and energy is the way nature intended ? through exercise. Ever gotten that endorphin high after a great workout? You'll be surprised at how "high" you get and at how clearly you can think.
Healthy Weight Loss & Water Loss
Due to some of the ingredients in fat burners, they can make you lose weight ? but not necessarily the correct type of weight. Some ingredients such as caffeine can be classified as mild diuretics. This can be deceiving, as the weight that you may have lost from the "fat" burning supplement may not be fat at all, it may just be water.
So, all in all, fat burning supplements do provide some benefits ? that is, if the ingredients actually DO support their claims. However, many times, even though they do provide benefits, the benefits are many times small compared to what can be accomplished through intelligent dieting and exercising. It is up to the buyer whether the price tags justify the benefits that these supplements may provide.
You can find more revealing weight loss articles plus download "Big Fat Lies" - A Shocking Exposure of the 12 Biggest Scams of the Weight Loss Industry at weight loss tdee calculator You can also receive a free e-mail course, "The Forgotten Facts of Fat Loss", that reveals the untold truth about weight loss that greedy weight loss & supplement companies don't want you to know! Simply go to weight loss tdee calculator
maide service in Glenview ...How was it for you? Did you get through the... Read More
To achieve your goals you need a diet that takes... Read More
Ah the ever present battle to lose those unwanted pounds.... Read More
Stop Being Influenced by Food Ads on TVThere is much... Read More
Remember that movie with Jim Carey, "Dumb and Dumber?" And... Read More
If winter hibernation tends to pack on the pounds, take... Read More
Lipoxinol Weight Loss Review: Does Lipoxinol Live Up To All... Read More
Protein is an essential nutrient necessary for maintaining good health.... Read More
As a weight loss mentor it never ceases to amaze... Read More
Students today are faced with the serious reality of unwanted... Read More
At its most basic, dieting is about burning more calories... Read More
Resistance training, also known as strength training, does not require... Read More
The only way you will ever follow through on an... Read More
Ever notice how your best friend can lose weight on... Read More
New gastric bypass patients say they miss food, they grieve... Read More
Everyone has their own individual reason for joining a health... Read More
Are you frustrated with your weight problem and don't know... Read More
There are tons of fad diets and weight loss schemes... Read More
Whether coming from a close friend, the nightly news or... Read More
In a gastric bypass the connection between he stomach pouch... Read More
If you are a mom at home on a diet,... Read More
Fat does Not Make You Fat. One of the other... Read More
There are many factors responsible for abdominal fat like processed... Read More
It's definitely no fun to lose weight -- put it... Read More
Just about every one of us struggles with our weight... Read More
scheduled maid service Des Plaines ...Frankly, I'm puzzled whenever I hear this from somebody who's... Read More
Two basic approaches to losing weight; one approach is correct... Read More
One common question I receive is, "What do you do... Read More
Any true body transformation starts with self?discovery. It is an... Read More
Just because you're working hard, doesn't mean that you're working... Read More
World Health Organization has observed that obesity has now reached... Read More
What's a Low Carb Diet Really Mean?When I hear low... Read More
In March 2003 our then 13 year old daughter, Helen,... Read More
There are many factors that cause us to increase body... Read More
I know a lot of people out there would like... Read More
Maybe your doctor suggested it. Maybe your favorite outfit doesn't... Read More
What a great world we live in. You want something,... Read More
Living a powerful, healthy, fit and trim life is a... Read More
Do you know what the words really mean on food... Read More
There are many books and internet articles written about weight... Read More
We have all set them, and we will revisit them... Read More
The fear of success arises in patients when they realize... Read More
Obesity is now assuming epidemic proportions. Worldwide there are over... Read More
Getting involved in Weight Loss Program can be intimidating for... Read More
Have you been on a new diet for a couple... Read More
We all know it's hard to begin losing weight, no... Read More
Using healthy low carb recipes are an important part of... Read More
Over two thirds of Americans are over weight, and half... Read More
I was at the grocery store the other day, doing... Read More
You may be considering a low carb diet program, but... Read More
Weight Loss |